Meet my friends, Art and Marcia

I have enjoyed the company of this lovely and talented couple in many ways over the last two decades. They have been parishioners at both St. Stephen, Summerland, and St. Saviour, Penticton. Their mission-oriented work in Papua, New Guinea intersects well with my Anglican Communion environmental work; we share some friends in common including the late Canadian Bishop Terry Brown who served in Solomon Islands. And they love jazz. Matrimonially, they are both second-timers. Understandably, their wall is peppered with generations of family photographs. Family is important to both, as is education, Christian faith, and yes, jazz.

They first met along the edge of Penticton’s Channel Parkway. Marcia was living here and teaching; Art was doing a study of “Indian” education in the valley. Marcia was quite involved with the Syilx (Okanagan speaking) community. On one occasion, they met with the homeschool coordinator from the Penticton Indian Band. Marcia says that she was the “token”  Indigenous liaison with the school system. “They didn’t tell me that I was coordinating things,” she says. She and Art found areas of shared interest easily and quickly. Their first meeting, however, only lasted one hour. Then they travelled off in different directions. They lost contact pretty much, though not, it seems, interest in each other.

Marcia ended up in Victoria as coordinator of Indian education for the province. During that time she attended St. John’s Church in downtown Victoria, the church of my youth, where the leadership of my personal mentor, the Rev. Bob MacRe birthed many, substantial justice and development projects across our church. Bob married Art and Marcia, though he got lost en route to the North Vancouver location arriving a half hour late. Art, a UBC professor of educational psychology, was a busy researcher. He needed money; so he found his way back to Marcia. She had lots of money, at least then.

I asked how they found their way to Papua New Guinea? They provided two stories: Art’s goes like this: “I was doing work in Australia with aboriginal education programs. I was going down there fairly regularly, and on one of my trips, I picked up the newspaper, and found an ad for an educational psychologist at the University of Papua New Guinea. I thought, ‘Ooh, this sounds interesting.’ He thought. He read about it on the plane. (‘He did not forewarn me,’ Marcia adds..) Anyway, I’d been away for at least a month. Returning to Vancouver I showed Marcia the ad and said, ‘this sounds great. How would you like to spend a year in Papua New Guinea with me?’”

Marcia’s story differs in some important details. She explains: “Well, the story is that he was gone for a month or so, and that’s usual because he’s gathering information and putting it together, verifying some of it (which he never did for me.) By the time the plane arrived in Vancouver, he came running up to me and gives me a big hug. As it was my birthday, I expected  something like, ‘Happy birthday, Marce.’ Well, he forgot all about my birthday. Instead, he said, ‘guess what?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. What?’ And he said, ‘I found a job in Papua New Guinea.’ I said, ‘Have a nice time; I’m not going as an add-on.’ But  . . . there was a vacancy in psych — There was a job there. ‘You’ll just love it,’ he said.

Next thing, he’s long gone, working in PNG. And so I persisted: ‘Well, get somebody to tell me about this other job. Let me know what it is. I’m not walking into something I don’t know.’ Anyway, it was right up my alley. it was great fun.

There were some students at UPNG in third and fourth year who were just being milked for their money, payments from the government. “They were the best things going for the university,” Art says. “They were really good students. The university is in the capital city, Port Moresby. It’s not a bad university; not particularly good either. Some of the students couldn’t even read English. That aside, we had a great time.”

Christian faith is obviously important to both Marcia and Art. I asked my favourite question: Why . . . and how, and when?

Art answers first: “My dad was a United Church minister. So it started at birth with me, and developed over the years. I was born and raised in  Kispiox, a Gitxsan village and rural community of roughly 600 residents in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. But I’m not Indigenous myself.”

I wondered why he came over to Anglicanism. Marcia explained: “He was going to marry me, so he had to.”

Art continues: “I guess my activism was largely prompted by my faith. ‘Get out there and do something,’ I thought; ‘you know, to help this world.’ So that’s how my work with First Nations people and communities evolved. For her part, Marcia spent much time in Haida Gwaii, doing similar work supporting Indigenous educational programs.

Both Art and Marcia are supporters of the Jazz Vespers program at St. Saviour’s Church in Penticton. This is a program I rejuvenated over the past two years. So I was curious: For them, why jazz? To which Marcia responded, “why not jazz? Yeah, we love it. My parents loved music. My dad played the piano. He always played the piano. Our favourite jazz musicians live right here in the Okanagan: Larry Crawford, and Al Crossley.”

Art comes from a very, very musical family. Brother Bruce is a former director of the UVIC school music and his wife, Connie, founded the respected Viva Children’s Choir program in Victoria. Music is in the More family DNA.

So what does life look life for Art and Marcia now? Sliding into the riper years of life they recently left their spacious adobe-style home surrounded by large gardens in Summerland. Now moved into a very lovely fifth storey apartment overlooking Okanagan Lake. I blessed their Summerland home 25 years ago, and will shortly do something similar with their Penticton location.

Art lives with significant mobility challenges and Marcia has her own experience of aging. Visiting with them along with my spouse, Kathie, they are simply delightful to be with. They have given, and received so much life and love, with each other and with others. They have navigated their fair share of challenges, duties, and delights. I am both pleased, and proud, to call them friends.

Visit the takenote.ca HOME page for a colourful display of hundreds of other blogs which may interest or inspire you